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Jake and I had back-to-back trail races this weekend - it was our first time doing back-to-back running races! We both got hit with the flu last week, so we were nervous about being able to perform. We both ran a 15k on Saturday and then I ran a 25k on Sunday and Jake ran a 50k. We ran at Dogwood, which is a crazy hard course. I have ran the 15k once or twice before and the 25k once before this weekend. I hadn't ran at Dogwood in probably 4 years, so I had kind of forgotten how challenging it was. Jake had never even been out there, so I was excited to experience this race with him! I'll fill you in on our Friday and Saturday today, and finish up Sunday on Tuesday. I hope you had a great weekend!

Jake was off work on Friday for Veterans Day, so we headed to a new restaurant in town for breakfast. We really like going to local places, but we had heard this new chain was pretty good, so we decided to try it out!

They have REALLY good coffee!

The food was okay. I'm glad we went, just so we could try it, but I don't know if I want to go back. Maybe for their coffee!

We also shared part of this banana and granola pancake. It was different, but good!

After breakfast, we ran a couple of errands, then I went home to do some work while Jake ran a few more. When he got home, we were both hungry again, so we went to Brew Co to grab lunch. Proper pre-race fuel. I LOVE dark beers, and Brew Co's Mudhouse Stout is amazing. Jake got one of their IPAs that he loves, it's called Green Ghost.

We wanted to eat dinner pretty early, so we shared the club and fries so we wouldn't be stuffed. This was delicious and totally hit the spot. As we were leaving, we ran into the event coordinator for our wedding reception venue, so we got to chat with her and sign everything, so we officially booked our venue! Eek! Our reception will be in June, about two weeks after we get married in Colorado. <3

Then it was home to start getting ready for our first race! Dogwood, where we raced, is a little over an hour away, so we got up at 4 AM both mornings. I set our coffee for 3:50, that way it was ready when I got out of bed. No way do I have time to wait for coffee to brew at 4 AM! ; ) Priorities, friends.

We laid everything out - our clothes, shoes, socks, change of clothes, packs, recovery mix, coffee mugs for the car, etc. We both like to be organized and prepared ahead of time, so we loaded up the car with everything right after dinner. That way, in the AM, all we had to do was get dressed, eat breakfast, grab our coffee, and hit the road! It makes it easier to do all this as a team!

We shared spaghetti and meatballs from Bambino's for dinner. I'm not usually a spaghetti and meatballs fan, but I was craving it Friday night. It was amazing.

Then we got some puppy cuddles from our girls since we were going to be gone all day Saturday. Look at Aspen...she is seriously the most cuddly dog ever. Jake didn't lay her like this, this is just what she does!

Then it was up at 4 AM! Thank goodness for coffee...and Bondi Bands.

I eat plain bagels before races. I hadn't had gluten-free before, but I thought I'd try it out. These were perfect and my stomach NEVER bothered me during my race. That's big for me! I put a little bit of PB and honey on top.

Jake had oatmeal, that I exploded all over the microwave. : ) Cooooool, Chelsea. He adds PB and honey to his, too.

We cleaned up our breakfast stuff (I don't like leaving things in the sink. Ever. It drives Jake nuts (rightfully so) when I insist on being weird and putting things away when we are in a hurry or watching a movie.) Then I mixed up my BCAAs to drink before the race and we hit the road!

I'd been wanting a new black Bondi Band, so I ordered one last week. It came in just in time for my races! I was pumped.

Ready to go!

Jake got me a pair a gaiters to wear. They help keep rocks and other small things out of your shoes. This weekend was my first time running with them. I was excited to try them out! These are from Altra. They were sweet! I also ran in a pair of trail shoes I had only ever ran in once before. It ended up working out perfectly! I ran in my Olympus on Saturday for the 15k, which are in this picture. I don't like feeling rocks on trail, so these were amazing.

At the starting line!

It was a beautiful morning. Cold, but beautiful. I think it was 31 when we started the race.

Last time I ran the 15k (in 2012), my pace was 12:47 and I finished in 1:58:46. This year, my pace was 9:40 and I finished in 1:29:45. I ended up getting 2nd in my age group, too!

This run felt really good, but we were glad to be finished so we could start recovering and preparing for Sunday! Jake got FIRST in his age group. So proud of him!

I love that we get to race together. It makes it that much more fun!

We were STARVING after our race, so we headed to Galloway. We shared the BLT and sweet potato fries. It was perfect for after our run. I was glad my stomach finally felt back to normal - I had to get some jalapeños to put on our BLT.

After lunch, we went to Jake's parents' house to hang out with his family that was in town. After that, we ran by a bike shop to get some more nutrition for our long races Sunday. While there, Jake got to try out an e-bike. He was loving it!

We also picked up a couple more flavors of these Skratch bars because we only ordered one kind. These are SO good. This ginger and miso one was so different, but I loved it.

We pulled into our driveway about 4:30 PM, sat in the car, looked at each other, said we were starving, and called in dinner. HA! We left right away to go pick it up. We had Pappo's and got this salad (whoops) and pizza.

This is a large pizza. We ate the WHOLE thing. I know it's thin crust, but I've never gotten to say that I helped someone eat a whole large pizza. Jake let me make a big deal about it for roughly 20 minutes. I was just excited!

This is how Lulu watched us eat. Eye-roll. She always lays under this table, so it's hard to get mad at her since it's her spot.

After dinner and a movie, we got everything ready for Sunday morning! Here's a sneak peek of my awesome playlist!

Then it was off to bed! Saturday's race wasn't too taxing on us, but it definitely took more out of us then we realized. Everything went really well on Saturday - neither of us had any cramping, any pains, any rolled ankles, etc. Sunday was a different story, but I'll fill you in on that tomorrow!

How was your weekend?Any races or long runs?Anything exciting happening this week?

I am currently in so much pain from my 18.5 mile run. I think my knee is screaming because my IT band is too tight. I am hoping that a couple days off with allow the IT band to loosen back up. I am fortunate that I have vacation to MN and then England coming up which I have built in a running break for.
I know that you have dealt with some injuries lately so I am hoping for some good vibes because I have go to get in my distance runs in preparation for my full marathon. In the meantime, I swam 5000 yds tonight and I am praying that my knee will be mobile enough for a spin class tomorrow evening!! :)

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Chelsea

11/14/2017 07:37:15 am

Oh, Lindsay, I'm so sorry to hear about your knee! I hope it gets to feeling better ASAP! I'll be sending you positive vibes!

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I write about whatever is going on each day. I want to use this space as a place to document my dissertation and training journeys.